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In the last issue of the Gazette we talked about protecting your points from sudden airline collapses.
We suggested booking Award flights with Qantas partner airlines a year ahead then cancelling and redeeming the points on Qantas flights.
As many of our readers correctly pointed out, flight awards with some Qantas partner airlines and oneworld
alliance members are not refundable once they are booked - so be sure to
check the small print before forking out your points. Thank you to those
who wrote to us clarifying this point.
But, as other readers have pointed out, spreading
your points between credit cards, and keeping them there right up until
you are ready to convert them to frequent flyer points is a sensible and
safe way to go. It also gives you the flexibility and more choices when
it comes to turning those points into rewards.
Westpac has introduced its new reward credit card, Altitude.
One of the features of the new program is that points earned since September 14 by Global Rewards customers will be recognised under the new program. But the bank's keeping mum on whether it will pursue (as a creditor) the recovery of points spent with Ansett prior to September 14 which were lost after the airline's collapse.
All Global Rewards Westpac Visa cardholders have automatically been listed as new members of the Altitude program, according to the bank's press statement. One dollar spent on the card gets you one point but you can also earn double points by shopping with Altitude's Bonus Partners. In addition, the bank is offering an extra half a point for every dollar spent on the card before the New Year (that's 1.5 points for every dollar spent).
And there's no expiry date on the points earned.
The good news is that the program offers flights with 90 percent of the world's major airlines. And if you haven't got enough points you can top them up with cash.
Be careful about doing this - as a rule, we don't endorse paying
cash for points because you often end up paying more for a few thousand
points that you would have paid for a discount fare!!
Altitude points can also be converted to Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Air New Zealand Air Points, on a point-for-point basis. They can then be used to book flight through the oneworld
and Star Alliance networks.
On the other hand at least one reader has written in
complaining about the short interest- free period the card offers (about
45 days) and its compulsory first year membership fee.
Ansett Global Rewards members waiting to hear about the fate of their points will have to keep holding their breath. So far the only break has come in the way of the reopening of the Golden Wing Club lounges. But even these have limited facilities - and with no Internet capabilities you can't even read the latest edition of the Australian Frequent Flyer Gazette online while waiting for your plane! Keep up to date with the latest developments on Ansett, by visiting
the Global Reward update section of
our website.
Some of our readers have pointed to "loopholes" which can get more value out of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. For example, if you are short of a few points to fly from, say Melbourne to Japan (80,000), you might want to consider getting a flight from Sydney to Japan (50,000) and buying a discount ticket to get from Melbourne to Sydney. Even better, you could redeem a flight between the two cities for 20,000 points
- saving 10,000 points!! Don't forget, you can use our
Points Calculator on this newsletter to plan your trip.
Another clever idea sent in by one of our readers is to purchase tickets for discounted sectors (such as flying out of Melbourne on Grand Final weekend)
but redeeming points for high demand sectors, which would not be discounted (such as flying into Melbourne during Grand Final weekend). But you would have to book well in advance, considering the short supply of reward seats, especially in high demand periods.
United Airlines is doing its best to lure back nervous
customers. The airline has recently announced it will revise the
qualification criteria for its most loyal Mileage Plus members.
Customers who have not flown as much as in previous years will still be
recognised for their continued loyalty by having their current elite
status combined with those earned over the past two years.
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